Merck's Maxalt Approved In USA

Merck & Co has been awarded US Food and Drug Administration approvalfor Maxalt (rizatriptan benzoate), its new 5-HT1B/1D agonist for the acute treatment of migraine with or without aura in adults.

Launch of the product will likely spark an intense marketing war in the migraine market, as Merck takes on the established franchise of Glaxo Wellcome with Imitrex (sumatriptan) and follow-up Amerge (naratriptan), as well as another recent entrant to the US market, Zeneca, with Zomig (zolmitriptan; Marketletters passim).

Merck will be aided in its marketing efforts by the fact that Maxalt is the first and only migraine drug available in both conventional tablets and a convenient fast-dissolving tablet formulation, which disintegrates within seconds on the tongue and does not need to be taken with water. This formulation is expected to be promoted heavily in a direct-to-consumer advertising campaign for Maxalt.